Device for handling metal



(N0 Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

W. '0. NIGHTENGALE. DEVIGB FOR HANDLING METAL. No. 319,926. Patented June 9, 1 885.

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(No Model.)

2 SheetsSheet 2. W. 0. NIGHTENGALE.

DEVICE FOR HANDLING METAL.

Patented June 9, 1885.

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Elfin STATESv WILLIAM O. NIGHTENGALE, OF MOKEESPORT, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES I. KAY

' OF PITTSBURG, :PENNSYLVANIA.

DEVICE FOR HIfNDLING METAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letteis Patent no. 319,926, dated June 9,1885.

Application filed April 2, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM GALE, of McKeesport, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Metal- Workers Tools; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descripto raise heavy piles, ingots, or plates, and feed them to the rolls in the manufacture of rails or heavy-plate metal.

In operating puddling-furnaces it is customary to employ overhead railways, leading from each furnace to the squeezer, on which a grooved roller is mounted, the tongs for carrying the puddlers balls being hung from this roller, and the puddler grasps the ball with the tongs and pushes it before him rapidly to the squeezer, the railway supporting the weight of the mass of metal. As the balls are soft and spongy, they are exceedingly hard to hold, and they frequently drop from the tongs, in which case, as the tongs are necessarily hung high to enter the furnace, the balls cannot be raised by them, and great difficulty is experienced in raising it from the floor, and the ball is in most cases so chilled that it is not in condition to roll, and must be replaced in the furnace and be reheated, this causing large loss in time and fuel, and because of the oxidation and burning of the metal. On account of the tongs being hung high, as before referred to, difiiculty is also experienced in withdrawing the balls,ingots, or piles from furnaces where they are not drawn sufficiently near the door, as the tongs cannot be pushed far into the furnace to grasp them. These difficulties are also experienced with the hooks employed in rolling, as before referred to, as the heavy mass of metal will fall, and the hook cannot'be lowered sufficiently to be forced under it, and the metal frequently becomes too O. NIGHTEN- I cold for rolling before it can be raised and fed to the rolls.

By myinvention these difficulties are entirely overcome. It consists, essentially, in connecting the metal-working tool to the suspending rod or chain by a sliding connection, so that in case it is desired to lower it to grasp or catch under the mass of metal, or to reach farther into the furnace, bya slight movement of the tool the pivotal point or point of suspension thereof may be changed sufficiently to allow of the grasping or catching of the metal on the ground or in the furnace, and to bring it to its proper height or position.

To enable others skilled in the art to employ my invention I will describe the same'more fully,referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a View of a pair of tongs illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a like view of a rollers hook. Fig. 3 illustrates the raising of a puddlers ball from the floor. Fig. 4 illustrates the manner of grasping a pile in a furnace. Fig. 5 illustrates the raising of an ingot in rolling, and Figs. 6 and 7 are views of other forms of my invention.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each. p

In the drawings the puddlerstongs a (shown in Fig. 1) are suspended from the rod or chain 1), hanging from a suitable roller on an overhead railway, the rods or chains I) being eonnected with the arms 0 of the tongs by the chains 12. At the base of the chains 1) are the rings d, which fit around the loops (2 on the arms 0. These loops areformed of bars welded or bolted to the tongs, and the forward ends thereof are bent upward to form the raised seats f, the rings d resting in these raised seats of the loop during the employment of the tongs in the regular operations .of the furnace, the chains 1) being made of proper length to support the tongs at the proper height to enter the furnace in Withdrawing the'puddleballs therefrom; The loops 6 are provided with the extensions 9 extending back above the same and forming slides .along which the rings (I slide until they come against the ends 9 thereof, these ends forming the stops of the loops. On the rollers hook m, (shown in Fig. 2,) this loop, 6 having the seat f and slide g, is employed, the loop being secured to the hook in any suitable way and the supported chain being secured to a suitable beam or track overhead. These loops thus form the sliding connections E between the tongs or hooks and suspending rod or chains and allow of the changing of the pivotal point or point of suspension from the raised seats f to the extensions 9 of the loops. This sliding connection maybe formed in different ways, the arms a of the hooks being bent to form the raised seats f to hold the rings d of the chain, as shown in Fig. 6, and these 'rings'd being sufficiently large to slide back over the body of the arms 0 until they come against the shoulders or stops g thereof, the bodies of the arms acting as the slides g,- or metal ribs k being welded or otherwise secured to the under surface of the arms, as shown in Fig. 7, these ribs forming the slides and terminating in stops or shoulders g, and the rings fitting around the arms a in front of these ribs and held in place by the lug Z, thus forming the seatf for the rings. The loops 6 are, however, preferred by me. I

In employing my improved tongs with puddling or heating furnaces, as they are hung from the chains in the raised seats f of the loops d, they are high enough to enter the furnace-door and grasp the ball, ingot, or pile without resting on the door-sill, and in case the metal to be grasped is too far in the furnace-chamber to grasp while the tongs are supported in the seats f, the operator raises them slightly until the rings d slidebaok over the slides or extensions 9 against the stops 9,

when he can reach farther into the chamber, much trouble and labor being avoided by thus giving to the tongs a greater reach within the chamber. As the tongs will reach farther into the chamber, the metal to be removed can remain in the hotter part of the chamber, and all chilling of one side thereof by the air entering at the door is overcome. Where the metal has been thus grasped, assoon as it is removed from the furnace the operator lowers the arms .or handles 0, and the ringsd slide back along the slides'g into the seats f, so that the leverage in supporting the metal in the tongs is not increased. He then pushes the tongs before him rapidly to the squeezers or rolls. Inica'se the ball, ingot, or pile should slip from the grasp of the tongs and fall to the ground, he lifts the tongs so that the rings d pass out of the seats f and slide along against the shoulders 9, when he can reach with ease to the ground and grasp the metal, and on raising itthe rings will slide back to the seats f, the operation requiring so little time that the metal is not materially cooled, and can be worked without reheating.

In employing the hooks the same advantages are obtained, as when the ingot or pile drops too low'to be reached and raised by the hook when suspended at the ordinary point the operator simply raises the hook until the ring d passes along the slides g to the shoulder y, when the book can be lowered so as to be forced under the ingot or pile and raise it to the desired height, and the ring will again slip into its seat in position for the regular operations with the hook.

The same and like advantages can be obtained when employing my invention in connection with hammer-tongs, puddlers rabbles, and other tools when suspended fromchains or rods.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a metal-working tool and suspending rod or chain, ofa sliding connection between said chain and tool, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with a metal-working tool and a suspending-chain, of a seat to receive the ring or other connection between said tool and chain, and a slide and shoulder back of said seat, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. 4

3. In combination with a suspending rod or chain having a ring, d, at the base thereof, a metal-working tool having a loop, 0, provided with a raised seat, f, and extensiong, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said WILLIAM O. NIGI-ITENGALE, have hereunto set my hand.

Witnesses:

J AMES W. PRESCOTT,

J. N. (300KB. 

